With so many reports in the National newspapers and on television about Childminders leaving the profession as they would be unable to cope with the additional paperwork under EYFS we were thrilled to hear from Bromley Childminder Susanne Kidman that she had been graded outstanding under the EYFS.
We invited her to attend our recent committee meeting and bring her paperwork/evidence to share her experience and pass on some good practices.
We want to congratulate Susanne, not only is she the first Outstanding that we are aware of in the Borough under EYFS, but English is her second language. Danish speaking Susanne openly admits that she sometimes struggles with writing things in English. She has developed a network of Childminding friends around her for support and this has enabled her to complete all the necessary paperwork and documentation. She has made good use of the downloadable resources and policies on the BCMA website, adapting them to suit her own practice and setting.
Susanne became a nanny in 1983 and in 1997 an Ofsted Registered Childminder.
Susanne had available to show the inspector her large portfolio of policies and procedures. She also laid out on the table her planning and observation folders. Susanne has been concerned about how much she needed to write for her observations and her standard of writing in English. She was therefore delighted when the inspector praised her on some of the observations.
Susanne had been observing the child in her care and realised that she was really interested in books. She planned some activities around story telling to pick up on this interest.
Susanne has tried out different types of documentation to record her planning and observations. She has found the spidergram format (topic webs)for planning suits her requirements best.
Her observations were mainly short bullet points rather than long essays and she includes photographs. She records the childs next steps.
Susanne found the whole experience great, she was able to relax and interact with her minded children whilst the inspector checked her documentation and observed her working. The inspection took just 2 hours, so no longer than previously.
We asked Susanne had she done her SEF? No, she had made a start but with her inspection coming so quickly after the launch, she had not had time to complete it. Susanne appreciates how the SEF can help her to reflect on her practice and develop it further so she is keen to complete it and then review it regularly.
Hopefully Susanne’s positive experience will help other Childminders to realise that EYFS is not the end of the road for them, just a slightly different way of working.
OUTSTANDING
